I cannot more fitly close these few words of Introduction than by quoting the quaint and curious announcement with which Mr Harris was wont to commend these little books to the public. "It is unnecessary," says he, "for the publisher to say anything more of these little productions than that they have been purchased with avidity and read with satisfaction by persons in all ranks of life." No doubt the public of to-day will be curious to see what manner of book it was that was so eagerly sought after by the children of the early days of the present century, and interested in comparing it with the more finished but often showy and sensational productions of our own time.
_LONDON_: PRINTED FOR J. HARRIS, SUCCESSOR TO E. NEWBERY, AT THE ORIGINAL JUVENILE LIBRARY, CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD.
_Field & Tuer, Ye Leadenhalle Presse, London._
[Illustration: _"Come take up your hats & away let us haste."_
_Pub. Jan. 25, 1808, by J. Harris, corner St. Paul's Church Yd._]
Come take up your Hats, and away let us haste To the _Butterfly's_ Ball, and the _Grasshopper's_ Feast. The Trumpeter, _Gad-fly_, has summon'd the Crew, And the Revels are now only waiting for you.
So said little Robert, and pacing along, His merry Companions came forth in a Throng. And on the smooth Grass, by the side of a Wood, Beneath a broad Oak that for Ages had stood,
[Illustration: _"Saw the children of earth & the tenants of air,"_]
Saw the Children of Earth, and the Tenants of Air, For an Evening's Amusement together repair. And there came the _Beetle_, so blind and so black, Who carried the _Emmet_, his Friend, on his Back.
And there was the _Gnat_ and the _Dragon-fly_ too, With all their Relations, Green, Orange, and Blue. And there came the _Moth_, with his Plumage of Down, And the _Hornet_ in Jacket of Yellow and Brown;
Who with him the _Wasp_, his Companion, did bring, But they promis'd, that Evening, to lay by their Sting. And the sly little _Dormouse_ crept out of his Hole, And brought to the Feast his blind Brother, the _Mole_.
[Illustration: _"And the sly little dormouse crept out of his hole."_]
And the _Snail_, with his Horns peeping out of his Shell, Came from a great Distance, the Length of an Ell. A Mushroom their Table, and on it was laid A Water-dock Leaf, which a Table-cloth made.